With the cost of colleges and universities climbing higher and higher, some students wonder why they have to take certain courses when they’d rather take others. Regardless of the fact that many universities pride themselves on creating comprehensive academic programs that prepare students for a wide variety of employment opportunities, shouldn’t it be up to the paying student as to what classes he or she takes?

General Education

Many colleges and universities have general education courses that you must pass in order to graduate. For example, at Wagner College one component of the general education requirement is to take two writing courses, one mathematics course, one speech proficiency course and one computer course. Despite the fact that you may have a directed sense of what you’d like to do after graduation and want to take courses accordingly, you won’t be able to graduate many colleges and universities without taking general education courses.

Job Placement

Despite the fact that it may seem logical to assume you’ll want to only take classes that are part of your major for job placement reasons, you should broaden your scope. In May of 2013 The Washington Post published an article titled, "Only 27 percent of college grads have a job related to their major." The article explains that the odds of a person finding a job that meets their specific major isn’t that common. Even though you may be convinced in college that your major will be your professional life pursuit, the job market will undoubtedly have a significant effect on where you start working. Taking courses outside of your major can enhance your skills and help prepare you for other job options.

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Minor

At many colleges and universities there are majors that require you to declare a minor. For example, there are some majors at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University where you must declare a minor even though the university as a whole doesn’t require you to declare one. A minor not only helps fulfill the number of course units to graduate, but having a major and minor on your resume reveals to potential employers that you’re versatile.

Indecision

Even though you may be certain that your major is exactly what you want to pursue after graduation, according to Dr. Fritz Grupe, founder of MyMajors.com, 80 percent of students entering school don’t know what they’ll declare as their major. In addition, there are a great number of students that change their majors while in school. Part of the reason why colleges require students to take a wide array of courses is because is greatly helps with the search to find your passion.

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About the Author

Jake Shore is an award-winning Brooklyn-based playwright, published short story writer and professor at Wagner College. His short fiction has appeared in many publications including Litro Magazine, one of London's leading literary magazines. Shore earned his MFA in creative writing from Goddard College.